Pak Army chief holds rare same day meetings with Prez, PM

Although the army chief’s meeting with the Prime Minister took place on the sidelines of the apex committee on Afghanistan’s session, it is rare for a COAS to meet both heads of the state and the government on the same day, the report said.

The brevity of a statement on the Khan-Bajwa meeting issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) added to the curiosity of political observers about what could have been possibly discussed between them.

All that the PMO had to say about the meeting was “Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa called on Prime Minister Imran Khan today. Professional matters pertaining to Pakistan Army were discussed during the meeting”.

Press statements on the meetings between Khan and Gen Bajwa have been typically pro forma since their public disagreement over the appointment of Inter-Services Intelligence director general.

There have been just two publicly disclosed meetings between the two since October 26, 2021 the day Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum was notified as the new director general, though they have been together at forums attended by other functionaries as well.

Meanwhile, the presidency’s statement gave a little more insight into the meeting between Alvi and the COAS, suggesting that they had a focused discussion on the recent terrorism incidents in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Gen Bajwa “briefed the President about the professional preparedness and measures being taken by the security forces against the terrorist elements”, the presidency stated, adding that the army chief reiterated the resolve “to eliminate militants and miscreants from the country”.